Helical Tomotherapy® is a Safe and Feasible Technique for Total Scalp Irradiation

Francesco Cuccia; Vanessa Figlia; Antonella Palmeri; Francesco Verderame; Antonio Lo Casto; Mariella Mannino; Giuseppe Ferrera

doi:10.4081/rt.2017.6942

Helical Tomotherapy_® is a Safe and Feasible Technique for Total Scalp Irradiation

Rare Tumors. 2017 Mar 28;9(1):6942. doi: 10.4081/rt.2017.6942. eCollection 2017 Mar 24.

Authors

Francesco Cuccia^{1

2}, Vanessa Figlia^{1

2}, Antonella Palmeri^{1

2}, Francesco Verderame³, Antonio Lo Casto², Mariella Mannino¹, Giuseppe Ferrera¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiation Oncology, ARNAS-Civico Hospital, Palermo.
² Radiation Oncology School, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
³ Department of Medical Oncology, AO Ospedali Riuniti, Palermo, Italy.

Abstract

Angiosarcoma of the scalp is a rare aggressive tumor that affects elderly patients. Chemoradiation is the treatment of choice for multicentric and extensive disease. The shape of the scalp represents a dosimetric challenge in terms of achieving a homogeneous concave dose distribution with coverage of the entire target volume and an acceptable organs-at-risk sparing. We report a case of an 81-year-old man with a multifocal angiosarcoma of the scalp treated with Helical TomoTherapy_® (Accuray Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, USA) intensity modulated radiotherapy. This technique allows precise and daily verifiable coverage of the target keeping the dose to the organs at risk within the constraints.

Keywords: Angiosarcoma; IGRT; IMRT; Scalp irradiation; Tomotherapy.

Publication types

Case Reports